OMAHA — Nebraska’s first-term governor, Jim Pillen, elected to have surgery at Nebraska Medical Center on Wednesday to mend broken ribs.
Pillen, 68, will be kept in the hospital for at least “several more days for recovery and observation” after being critically hurt Sunday when a new horse bucked him off while he was riding with family members.
The surgery, set for late Wednesday afternoon, will temporarily raise Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly to the state’s top job for around four hours while Pillen undergoes the procedure and recovers.
Kelly, also 68, is a former Lancaster County Attorney and a top prosecutor for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
Pillen’s decision to use metal plates to brace his broken ribs should “promote stronger long-term healing,” help with pain management throughout recovery, and “reduce the odds of complications,” according to a statement from the Governor’s Office issued Wednesday afternoon.
“Based on the Governor’s health profile and active lifestyle, his doctors consider him an ideal candidate for this procedure,” according to a statement.
On Sunday, Pillen sustained seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a lacerated spleen, a fractured spine, and a kidney contusion.
Pillen and Nebraska First Lady Suzanne Pillen wished Nebraskans a “merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah.” The release states that he “remains grateful for the exceptional care he is receiving by the team at Nebraska Medicine and thanks Nebraskans for their outpouring of support to him and his family.”
His physicians estimated that he would need three months to fully recuperate. He spent Sunday, Monday, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day at the Omaha hospital affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
His doctors, who talked with reporters on Monday, expressed relief that the governor sustained no injuries to his head, neck, or spine, which are usual complications from horseback riding mishaps.
Pillen was up and walking Monday after undergoing emergency surgery to repair his spleen on Sunday. Kelly’s first brief stint as governor occurred during that surgery.
According to the statement released on Wednesday, Pillen’s recuperation from spleen surgery has “progressed well” and there have been “no new issues” with his kidney and lung ailments.
The former University of Nebraska regent and Husker defensive back from the 1970s had lobbied doctors to allow him to travel home to Columbus for the holiday, according to his doctors.
That’s where his family runs a hog operation, and it’s also where he was riding his new horse, Jack, with his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter.
The horse was uninjured. The Governor’s Office informed reporters that Jack is “fine.”